Blog Post #4

            In the election of 1960, the controversial issue was President John F. Kennedy being a Catholic. This speech was made in response to this issue and the suspicion of some Americans about his religion. President Kennedy argued that his religion did not disqualify him to be president of the United States. President Kennedy believed that Americans should vote for the person that could run the country effectively not because of their religious affiliation. President Kennedy believed it would be a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution for someone to vote for another person solely because of their religion. This speech addressed a lot of different issues surrounding religious prejudices.

            I do not think this would go well for a President in today’s time. When the religious right became a voting bloc, it changed how elections would be run. President Carter and President Reagan, woke this sleeping giant up and used it to their advantage. Once this giant was awake, it became very clear that they could help win elections if used. I also do not believe this would be an effective speech because there are a lot of controversial issues in today’s culture that religious groups have taken up as their cause. These issues motivate them to vote and motivate them to find their candidates that support their views.

            It would be nice if we could go back to these speeches. I believe a lot more could get done politically, if the politicians were not worried about appeasing a certain group of people just because it is a large amount of people. These speeches could also help mend the divide in this country, but it does not look like these speech will be making a comeback anytime soon.